Simone Battle obit

G.R.L. Member Simone Battle Has Died at 25

The girl-group singer was found dead in Los Angeles on Friday, her record company confirms

 

She was not on the list.

Simone Battle, a member of the girl band G.R.L., was found dead in Los Angeles on Friday, her record company confirms. The cause of death is still unknown.

An official statement from Reign Deer Entertainment, Robin Antin, Kemosabe Records and RCA records reads, “We are deeply saddened by the tragic news of the loss of Simone Battle of G.R.L. Simone was an exceptional young talent and human being, and we are all devastated to learn of her passing. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and loved ones at this time.”

Battle, 25, first rose to fame as a finalist on the 2011 U.S. version of X Factor, where she made it into the top 17. In 2012, she joined G.R.L., the all-girl group formed by Pussycat Dolls founder Robin Antin. The band burst onto the music scene last spring when they sang the chorus to Pitbull’s hit song “"Wild Wild Love"“.

In an interview with PEOPLE in April, Battle said joining the group felt like a natural step in her career.

“We’d all been pursuing careers in the industry on our own, but once we found each other, we realized we wanted to do it together. It felt so right. The chemistry was perfect,” she said.

The other members of the group released a statement on Twitter on Saturday afternoon. “Words cannot express the depth of our loss. Simone’s incredible talent was only surpassed by the size of her heart,” they wrote. “We will carry her memory with us in everything we do.”